I think I've figured out a neat way to store bacon. If you roll slices
up individually and loosely pack them into a plastic container,
they're easy to break off even when frozen. I think it's because you
minimize the contact points between each slice, whereas freezing it as
an entire slab requires you to hack parts off. To unroll, microwave
the bacon until soft (30 seconds?), unwind, and cook as normal.

This means that I can have bacon and eggs for breakfast practically
any time I want, which *might* not be a good thing. <laugh>

In other news, lunch today will be some kind of cold chickpea salad. I
soaked the chickpeas yesterday and then boiled them in my rice cooker
while having breakfast. They turned out nicely cooked, and I didn't
even have to pay attention to them. Neat.

One of the good things about Canada is that I can wear funky ethnic
outfits. I invariably get complimented whether I'm at a geek
get-together or a fashion boutique. I stand out in a crowd. It gives
people something to talk to me about, which has led to quite a few
interesting conversations. This is great when I'm among strangers, as
I don't have to chat people up - people come to me!

My favorite ethnic outfit is the malong, a tubular piece of cloth
frequently embellished with batik designs or embroidery. I love it for
its versatility. Not only can it go from casual to formal and back
again, but I can also make it a skirt or a dress or a bag with just
the strategic repositioning of safety pins.

This malong:

Slip into the malong's tube and hold it so that the extra part is to your right.

Loop the extra part behind and over your right arm.

Fasten the part to both sides of the tube using a safety pin.

Pin the fold to the opposite side.

Granted, I'm making things up as I go along. I don't even have the
vocabulary to describe what I'm doing. <laugh> I'll just have to
record a video sometime.

I've seen only one other person wear a malong regularly, and she was
one of the hippest dressers in Ateneo de Manila University. I have
three full malongs and two skirt-type malongs, which could probably
double as short dresses in a pinch. I want more!

Promoting traditional Filipino costumes is one of my little crusades.
I think we don't give our culture enough credit, and we don't have
nearly as much fun wearing traditional outfits as we could. I love
wearing my terno, and wish I had a more casual version that I could
wear during summer. I'd wear a Maria Clara if I had one, full skirt
and all. I would love to wear the Ifugao belt with the cute pompoms
and the tapis with intricate weaving. And I want to discover all the
other costumes that have sprung out of the multifaceted culture of an
archipelago.

I'd also love to have suits with ethnic accents, whether it's in terms
of materials (I miss my barong dress!) or embellishments such as
weaving or embroidery. Does anyone know a fashion designer in touch
with the Filipina soul? I can't afford an entire wardrobe of
custom-made suits, but I don't mind slowly accumulating pieces of
quality. (Very slowly, given my graduate student budget!) I want to
promote Philippine culture, and this will be a lifelong endeavor.

I'm Filipina, and I want people to know it. I want people to think of
Filipinas as not just domestic helpers or nurses or potential wives. I
want them to think of Philippine culture as not just Western-aping
blandness but rather something richly textured. My body is my
billboard, and I want to be a walking advertisement for what is
beautiful about my home.

I like these one-on-one meetings. I find myself in the zone, asking
questions and figuring things out. I had another good meeting with
Mark Chignell, my research supervisor. This
time, we worked on my research plan. I'm happy with the result, and I
think IBM will be happy as well. We'll do a historical
pseudo-experiment looking at factors that may have affected the
adoption of social computing across subgroups within IBM. I'll see how
I can visualize the data.

Some considerations:

Mark will be in Japan from January to mid-March, and again from April
to June. Options for masteral exam:

March

I'll be able to make it to June convocation, and I might have a few months of vacation before real work.

I'll be under stress because of the tight schedule, and I probably couldn't take spring classes.

August

Less stress from schedule, can take additional courses in spring, more time around tech scene here.

Need to renew my visa, which is not a bad thing. I'll miss the June convocation, and will need to make it to November convocation instead. If I find myself working in Canada, then I can still probably graduate with pomp and circumstance. ;) My parents won't like winter, though, but hey... If I'm not working in Canada, then no pictures or ceremony. Oh well, s'okay. Must check fellowship.

Here's the March schedule:

August

Resume my commute to IBM. (Waah!) Find as many sources of data as I can.

Whichever schedule we choose, my next action is to hunt for as many
data sources as I can and figure out how to mash them up. I need to
decide which schedule to follow before I go on my Christmas vacation,
because I'll probably renew my US visa then. (That is, unless I can
renew my visa from Canada.)

I'd love to hear about any questions, comments, suggestions or links that you might have. Your comments will not be posted on this website immediately, but will be e-mailed to me first. You can use this form to get in touch with me, or e-mail me at [email protected] .

Page: 2006.08.03

Updated: 2006-08-1017:28:5317:28:53-0400

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